Okay, So Maybe Not So Much Success

Well, Sweetie's sleeping soundly right now, all cuddled up with Teddy, Bunny and Winnie - in her crib. Yes, she's back in her caged walls, for now. After this weekend (when she'll be spending an overnight at Nana and Papa's anyway), then we'll give the big girl bed another shot.

It's all the fault of a spider. A daddy long legs, to be exact, that she saw a few nights back after we tucked her into her bed. She told me she saw a spider, but I thought she was looking across the room and I didn't see it myself. After another minute she said again, with much more concern in her voice and fear in her eyes, that there was a spider. I could see now that she was looking at her bed rails, but at my first glance here I still didn't see the offending creature. Then, right there in front of my face, I saw it. And it scared me. And I screamed. And so did Sweetie.

Well, that was it for her. I took care of the daddy long legs and told Sweetie everything was all better - it wouldn't bother her again. But she was still scared. She didn't want me to leave her side to go turn off the light, nor did she want me to merely sit at her bedside until she fell asleep. No, she wanted me to "sleep around next to me, Mommy, and hold my tummy with two hands."

I should have done this. I should have recognized that her spider fear set her back a few notches in her strides toward successfully staying in bed by herself. I should have comforted her better and stayed with her as she wanted. But I didn't. I was insistant that she either accept that I was only going to sit next to her for awhile or I was going to put her in her crib. Because the crib won out.

Then the next night, when Daddy took her to bed and he asked her where she wanted to sleep, she said her crib. And he accepted that (much more easily than I would have, mind you. I would have questioned her more, arguing that she at least try her bed first).

So here we are now - with Sweetie consistently chosing her crib over her bed. Oh well. Like I said, come next week we'll start again at square one and see how well she does. Pray for no more spider.